The London Biggin Hill Airport Hotel, situated in South East London, will be an essential addition to airport facilities catering for business users and the local community. Responding to growing competition from Farnborough airport, the 76 bed hotel will provide four-star accommodation for international business customers and their pilots who form the core business. The hotel will also cater for weekend pleasure flyers, local businesses and local people who will be able to hire meeting rooms and dine in the air-side brasserie-style restaurant.

The hotel is separated into two elements. The air-side public areas, and the quieter bedroom wing. The public areas comprise a restaurant/bar and function room that have been located as close to the runway as safeguarding restrictions permit and have terraces with uninterrupted views across the airfield to the terminal building and the neighbouring ‘green belt’ land.

The bedroom wing is three storeys in height with the upper floor dedicated as a ‘quiet floor’ for pilot use with a lounge, kitchen facilities and small gym.

A fully glazed triple-height reception area links the two hotel elements and creates a formal entrance from the car park. The simple form makes reference to the extruded forms of hangars, whilst the proposed external cladding consists precast concrete panels with the roof and dormers clad in zinc. All the windows in the quiet zones will be triple glazed.

www.epr.co.uk